Vehicle-based global-positioning systems (GPS) are capable of providing complete mapping information, including street layout, street names, directions, landmarks, addresses, and the like. However, consumers often have difficulty reading maps, especially when presented on a video screen, and the study of complex information, such as a map while driving, may dangerously distract from the driving task. Vehicle mirror assemblies are desirable locations for an GPS antenna, such as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,552, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention fulfills a need to intelligently filter mapping information in a manner that provides useful and usable data to the driver. The present invention also provides an economical driver-usable global-positioning system (GPS) display. A vehicular rearview mirror-based navigation system, according to an aspect of the invention, includes a rearview mirror system, including an interior rearview mirror assembly. The interior rearview mirror assembly includes an interior reflective element and an interior mirror housing for the interior reflective element. The interior rearview mirror assembly further includes a scrolling display. The scrolling display displays scrolling driver informational messages on the scrolling display.
A vehicular review mirror-based navigation system, according to another aspect of the invention, includes a rearview mirror system having an interior rearview mirror assembly. The interior rearview mirror assembly includes an interior reflective element and an interior mirror housing for the interior reflective element. The interior rearview mirror assembly further includes a GPS display. The GPS display receives an output from a GPS receiving system and displays turn-by-turn information to a vehicle driver.
One aspect of the present invention offers a complete GPS system, including antenna, receiver and a GPS information display into a vehicular mirror assembly, and particularly an interior rearview mirror assembly. Provision of such a mirror-mounted GPS system as a unitary, complete assembly has several advantages, including obviating an automaker from having to specifically design a dashboard or other interior cabin spaces and would decrease the time to market associated with such level of feature integration. Also, provision of a mirror-mounted GPS system as a unitary, complete assembly facilitates supply of such assemblies as retrofits and as aftermarket installations, and generally increases an automaker""s ability to offer a GPS feature as an option on selected vehicles.
A particular advantage from locating the information display of a GPS system at the interior rearview mirror assembly in the interior vehicular cabin is that such a mirror-mounted GPS display can facilitate multi-tasking by the driver. Thus, there is a need to intelligently filter mapping information to provide useful, but usable, data to the driver. A further object of this present invention is to economically provide a driver-usable GPS display. Map displays are currently one of the largest cost factors in vehicle navigational systems. Thus, it would be desirable to avoid or reduce this cost by providing a simpler means of display to the driver.
Another aspect of this invention is the location of the GPS antenna and the receiver in the exterior side view assembly. A further aspect is the processing by that exterior side view mirror receiver of GPS location data received by the antenna and fed from there to the receiver, providing an output from that location, that is external to the vehicle cabin, into the vehicle cabin. This has the advantage of the optimal field of view for the antenna for communication to GPS satellites. The placement of the receiver in an exterior side view mirror assembly in close proximity to the antenna also is preferred to avoid RFI and EMC issues associated with low level RF signals. Locating the GPS antenna at a distance from the GPS receiver may render the GPS system subject to stray RF noise from cellular phones and high power portable transmitters, such as CB""s and handheld radios.